The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress have done exceedingly well in the just concluded Uttar Pradesh civic elections.
The BJP, which was widely perceived to be down in the dumps, has bagged the mayor's chair in as many as five of the 12 major cities.
The Congress followed them closely and won three.
The ruling Samajwadi Party has just one mayoral position in its kitty.
On the three remaining seats, the BJP was leading on two, while the Congress was ahead on one.
Three of the elected mayors were women -- in Meerut, Barielly and Gorakpur.
The BJP and the Congress were locked in a close contest in Lucknow, where the results were expected to be out by 11 pm. What has apparently come as a big shock for the ruling Samajwadi Party was the virtual exit of its nominee from the main contest in state capital Lucknow.
Also significant is the show of the independents. They have cornered as many as 41 of the 194 seats of Nagar Palikas and 140 of the 413 positions of Nagar Panchayats.
Despite the bad show in the cities, the SP leaders are upbeat, pointing to the results in the smaller towns (Nagar panchayats).
"On the whole, we have increased our share in different civic bodies of the state and the entire opposition has been beaten hollow by us," claimed Minister for Public Works and Energy Shivpal Singh Yadav, the younger brother of Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.
With the results in about 50 Nagar palikas yet to be declared, the SP has bagged 47 seats. Likewise, the ruling party had won 94 of the Nagar panchayat positions with the results at 50 more seats to come in.
In the end, this has become an election where every party is happy with the outcome.
"We have done exceedingly well and now it is proved beyond doubt that the BJP is the only party that can give the SP a run for its money," state BJP chief Keshrinath Tripathi said.
Likewise, a visibly elated UPCC state president Salman Khurshid declared, "The results have shown that the Congress is on a come back trail. We have made our presence in so many places where we did not exist at all for so many years; that is a major achievement."
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